Lovers of a quality, Belgian-style ale: You should know that some excellent beer is in danger should fracking begin in the Marcellus Shale.

Let me explain. Energy companies want to use hydraulic fracturing, a technique aptly known as "fracking," to get at natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation that lies beneath West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The process involves shooting hundreds of toxic chemicals diluted in millions of gallons of water into the earth. Natural gas is subsequently released, as are heavy metals and other nasty things lurking in the shale — which happens to be radioactive, by the way — while the fracking chemicals wander into local groundwater. What could possibly go wrong! Well, writer Barry Estabrook has already outlined the troubling impact this could have on the local food supply. But you know what else is inconveniently located right on top of the Marcellus Shale? Brewery Ommegang, maker of some of our favorite Belgian-style beers. A lot of water is used in the brewing process, and the beer is just never quite as good when it's peppered with toxins like benzene and radioactive strontium. If fracking begins, Ommegang will either have to relocate, close, or truck in its water from elsewhere. There's a petition on the matter, no doubt populated with folks who like good beer and aren't big on radioactive eats. [The Washington Post]